The co-founder of global international money transfer service TransferWise, Taavet Hinrikus, has accused Australia's big four banks of "screwing over" Australians, saying they over-charge consumers for a lousy service.

Referring to World Bank numbers showing Australia is the third most expensive Group of 20 economy for people and businesses to transfer money, TransferWise also commissioned research showing that between 2012 and 2016 Aussies spent $14.7 billon on foreign currency transaction fees.